We test the Moskowitz-Lombardi rule, originally formulated for mercury, which gives a simple relation between the magnetic moment of an atomic nucleus and the effect of its radial distribution on the hyperfine structure: the magnetic hyperfine anomaly or Bohr-Weisskopf (BW) effect. While the relation for the differential effect between isotopes may be completely determined experimentally, the value for the additive constant that is needed to give the BW effect for a single isotope has remained unverified. In this work, we determine the BW effect in H-like, singly ionized, and neutral mercury isotopes from experimental muonic-${}^{199}\mathrm{Hg}$ data together with differential anomalies and our atomic calculations. We check this result by directly extracting the BW effect from the measured hyperfine constant for ${}^{199}\mathrm{Hg}^{+}$ using state-of-the-art atomic many-body calculations. From this we deduce an empirical value for the additive constant in the Moskowitz-Lombardi rule, which differs significantly from the values advocated previously. This result allows for increased precision in calculations of the hyperfine structure and improved tests of atomic and nuclear theory.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Atomic & molecular structure
• Fine & hyperfine structure
• Nuclear shapes and moments
• Relativistic & quantum electrodynamic effects in atoms, molecules,& ions